How UC Davis MBA Students Are Shaping Sacramento's Next Community Hub

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The Greater Sacramento Urban League (GSUL) is a non-profit organization that focuses on the empowerment of Black and other underserved and marginalized communities. It provides economic, educational and place-building opportunities in the Sacramento region.

GSUL is located in the Del Paso Heights (DPH) neighborhood of Sacramento—a creative and talented community with deep roots and a vibrant culture. However, the DPH area is under-resourced and lacks spaces for community development and gathering.

GSUL is filling this gap by investing in a project called the Grand Gathering. This vision includes a new food cultivator, maker space, commercial kitchen, and gathering plaza on Marysville Boulevard.

I recently led a team of five UC Davis MBA students that partnered with GSUL to research and analyze success factors for makerspaces and commercial kitchens. This project was part of the UC Davis Integrated Management Projects (IMP), the capstone course in the MBA experience.

The project was a one-of-kind opportunity to apply our team’s collective skills and knowledge as MBA students to support an important community partner.

Creating a Space for Collaboration and Entrepreneurship

GSUL already had a vision for the Grand Gathering project that guided our team’s efforts. We built positive relationships with key stakeholders and applied sound research methods in our approach to the project.

The makerspace will incorporate activities focusing on the STEAM (science, technology, engineering, arts, math) disciplines. Students, faculty, staff and the local community will also use this space to develop integrated and diverse projects and businesses. The commercial kitchen will establish a cutting-edge facility for culinary entrepreneurs and professionals. It will provide equipment, resources and support to those entrepreneurs.

The underlying thread that tied our project together was to have these spaces speak to the interests and needs of the community.

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Our Team Approach: Research and Analysis

I had the privilege to work with four amazing MBA classmates. Ruthie Musker and Calvin Wang focused on the commercial kitchen, while Emily Oestreicher and Jessica Simmons focused on the maker space.

Our faculty advisor, Mary Kay Vona, supported our team by sharing her consulting expertise throughout the project. I was honored to be the project’s team lead and apply the critical thinking, project management, and client relationship skills we learned during our MBA program as well as develop project content as a team member.

We focused on three key areas:

• Understanding the current landscape
• Gaining insight into community needs
• Assessing buildout costs

Together, we quickly researched and analyzed leading models and practices of existing commercial kitchens and maker spaces. We also conducted in-depth interviews with local business owners and community members. This gave us a better perspective of the community’s concerns and interests.

Our Deliverables

At our final presentation at the GSUL Empowerment Center in DPH, we shared our findings and recommendations with GSUL President and CEO Dwayne Crenshaw and other executives, community stakeholders and staff.

We shared program design considerations and options, cost estimates applicable to a variety of scenarios, and options for space utilization and equipment.

We concluded our recommendations by providing a toolkit that would be useful for the next phase of the project. It included considerations for future research, other potential opportunities for the space, a list of additional contacts and customized communication templates.

This IMP experience was a great opportunity to apply learnings from our time in the MBA program. It challenged and stretched us in ways that contributed to our professional and personal growth.

GSUL’s Chief Impact Officer Troy William recognized that our work provided valuable recommendations to support and guide GSUL's initiatives.

“This journey has been a testament to the power of community and university collaboration and the incredible outcomes we can achieve when we combine academic expertise with community-driven goals.”

                                                                                             — Troy William, GSUL Chief Impact Officer

It was truly a pleasure for our team to partner with such an impactful organization on this meaningful project. We are all looking forward to seeing the Grand Gathering space come to life!